WHO Calls for More Access to Vaccines in Developing Nations
December 8, 2006
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said access to vaccines for diseases like yellow fever, influenza and hepatitis B must be improved in developing countries. "There can be a 20-year delay between the introduction of some vaccines in the United States and Europe and in the developing world," said Marie-Paule Kieny, director of WHO's vaccine research initiative. The WHO forum in Bangkok, which was attended by some 200 health experts, also called for the development of new vaccines to fight HIV and malaria. Regina Rabinovich, director of infectious diseases at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, reported that the candidate malaria vaccine RTSS had been shown effective when administered to children in Mozambique. "I cannot overestimate what a big step it was to find RTSS did have a measurable impact against the parasite in children. That has never been seen before," said Rabinovich.
Agence France Presse
This article was provided by CDC National Prevention Information Network. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.